Gardening

Whispy ornamental grasses are versatile plants in any garden or landscape. Give your garden four seasons of interest with low-maintenance ornamental grasses. We've rounded up some of the best varieties to try in your yard. You'll love how they look in the wind!

Recipes and Cooking

If you’re a beginner baker who’s just starting out (or a master chef looking to declutter), start with this list of baking must-haves. We’ll help you set up a baking kit for beginners with 21 essential tools. Or for those who already own these tools, this list may finally provide the motivation you need to toss that never-been-used soufflé dish. Building your essential baking toolbox starts here!

Home Improvement Ideas

With so many types of house styles, narrowing the list down to your favorite can be overwhelming. We'll show you the top 10 most popular house styles, including Cape Cod, country French, Colonial, Victorian, Tudor, Craftsman, cottage, Mediterranean, ranch, and contemporary. Here's how to tell the differences between each architectural style.

Cleaning and Organizing

Washing clothes by hand is a little extra work, but it's a well-worth-it laundry chore. Here's how to properly wash clothes by hand, which will give extra life to those special items in your clothes closet.

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Peperomia

Jacob Fox

Peperomias are a diverse group of small, easy-care houseplants with waxy and often highly textured leaves. Some of our favorite varieties include ripple peperomia, watermelon peperomia, baby rubber plant, and silverleaf peperomia.

Why We Love It: Its waxy, colorful foliage adds a splash of color in any room—without taking up a lot of space.

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Chinese Evergreen

Jacob Fox

This plant's leaves feature various shades of silver, gray, and green, making Chinese evergreen an attractive choice to brighten low-light areas of your home. You'll often see them in shopping mall or airport plantings because they are so adaptable and durable, yet attractive.

Why We Love It: Those attractive leaves really help brighten a dim corner.

Name:Aglaonema commutatum

Growing Conditions: Low to medium light; 60-75°F; keep evenly moist

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Note: All parts of this plant are poisonous and can cause severe irritation of the lips, tongue, and throat if eaten or chewed by pets or children.

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Grape Ivy

Denny Schrock

'Ellen Danica,' the variety of grape ivy pictured here is also called oakleaf ivy because its leaves are more deeply cut than other types of grape ivy. No matter which variety you choose, the tendrils on a vine of grape ivy will easily cling to a trellis or a stake. Its shiny, deep green leaves also create a nice texture for an indoor hanging basket.

Why We Love It: Even though it's a vine, grape ivy has more of a mounding habit so it's a perfect choice for lush, tidy-looking hanging baskets.

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Norfolk Island Pine

Dean Schoeppner

Outdoors, a new tree can be a big investment, but easy indoor trees can be great houseplants for beginners. The secret to keeping Norfolk Island pine healthy indoors is to give it bright but indirect light. In low light, the lower branches tend to turn brown and fall off.

Why We Love It: Its soft texture adds a cozy, woodsy feeling to any room. It is especially cute when decorated for Christmas.

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Dieffenbachia

Jacob Fox

Several closely related species share the name of dieffenbachia; they've all got canelike stems and lush green foliage variegated in white or cream. One of the plant's common names, dumb cane, refers to the effect the sap if eaten. It can irritate the mouth and throat enough to make it difficult to speak.

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Snake Plant

Jacob Fox

This easy succulent plant seems almost indestructible. Snake plant tolerates low light and little water while still maintaining its good looks. You can find several different varieties with different leaf shapes and patterns like the ones shown here.

Why We Love It: It adds unbeatable texture and strong vertical lines with its sword-shaped leaves.

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Philodendron

Jacob Fox

What can we say, we think heart-leaf philodendron is just adorable with its glossy, heart-shaped foliage and draping vines. Plus it adapts well to low-light spots and doesn't mind if you forget to water it a time or two.

Why We Love It: How could we not love a plant with heart-shaped leaves that is also super easy to grow?

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English Ivy

Jacob Fox

English ivy has leathery leaves and vigorous vining stems that have made it popular as an outdoor ground cover, but unfortunately it has become invasive in some regions. It can be an easy-care houseplant, too, and you'll be better able to keep it contained that way. It does best in bright but indirect light, though it will do fine in low light as well. You can find varieties with interesting leaf shapes and patterns.

Why We Love It: It works well wherever you need a draping plant or it easily can be encouraged to climb a support if you want a more upright look.

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ZZ Plant

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

Sometimes called eternity plant because it lasts so long, ZZ plant will even grow in low light and can go weeks without water. The thick stems and leaves are so sturdy that you might even think they're plastic.

Why We Love It: The fun nickname aside, we can't help but admire this plant for its gently arching stems lined on either side with deep green, smooth leaves.

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Spider Plant

Denny Schrock

Spider plants have been popular houseplants for decades and it's easy to see why. These undemanding beauties send out straplike, arching leaves that give it a jaunty, spidery look. Once the plants get big enough, they start producing baby plants on the ends of long stems that are a cinch to root in pots of their own. Some have plain green leaves while other varieties are variegated with cream or white stripes.

Why We Love It: It offers tons of old-fashioned appeal without tons of work.

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Arrowhead Vine

Jacob Fox

Arrowhead vine gets its name from the triangular shape of its green leaves. You can find varieties with variegated leaves or even bronzy-green with pink tones. Young plants form a mound about a foot high, but stems begin to vine as they mature, so you can grow them upright if you give them support or let them trail in a hanging basket.

Why We Love It: The interesting shape of the leaves and trailing stems lend a tropical feeling to any room.

Name:Syngonium podophyllum (though you might see it sold as Nepthytis)

Growing Conditions: Low to medium light; 60-75°F; keep evenly moist

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Note: All parts of this plant can cause irritation of the lips, tongue, and throat if eaten or chewed.

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Hoya

Kindra Clineff

Wax plant is a species of hoya that has trailing, slender stems lined with small, waxy green leaves. It also will bloom occasionally, producing small clusters of fragrant pink flowers. Golden wax plant (pictured) adds creamy variegation to the plant's appeal.

Why We Love It: It's one of the most powerfully fragrant indoor bloomers we know, plus it needs very little water.

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Corn Plant

Jacob Fox

The wide, straplike, arching leaves of corn plant resemble the leaves of its namesake, corn. Yet, this houseplant belongs to the diverse dracaena family of tropical plants. Some corn plants have plain green leaves, but some varieties like 'Warneckii' offer white, cream, gold, or chartreuse stripes on their foliage. They tolerate low light, but produce better color in medium to bright light.

Why We Love It: It makes a substantial floor plant with its glossy foliage and and upright stems.

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Pothos

Jacob Fox

This low-maintenance houseplant is commonly called pothos or devil's ivy, and it can be a godsend for those who struggle to keep houseplants alive. It's not fussy about how much light it gets (but yes, it does need some) and if you forget to water it for a while, it will quickly rebound when you do give it a drink. There are plain green ones as well as variegated varieties.

Why We Love It: Devil's ivy looks lovely trailing out of a hanging basket, climbing up a pole or other structure, or just left to meander over a tabletop or mantel.

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Cast-Iron Plant

Marty Baldwin

Cast-iron plant earned its name by withstanding neglect and tolerating low light, low humidity, and a wide range of temperatures. Look for a plant that's large enough for the space you want it to fill, because this easy-care houseplant grows slowly. You can also find some varieties that have white or yellow variegation on their leaves.

Why We Love It: This plant really lives up to its name: it seems to take just about anything you can dish out.

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Jade Plant

Jay Wilde

If remembering to watering is a struggle, jade plant may be just what you need. This slow grower can survive for weeks and even months without water because it stores what it needs in its fleshy stems and leaves. So if you can keep a cactus alive, you can grow a jade plant.

Why We Love It: As it grows, the thick stems branch like a small shrub or tree, which adds fun contrast when grown alongside other succulents with squat shapes.

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Ponytail Palm

Jacob Fox

Despite its common name, ponytail palm is a succulent rather than a true palm, and you might see it for sale with the name Nolina recurvata. This easy houseplant has graceful, arching leaves and a thick trunk that give it a striking, treelike appearance.

Why We Love It: Because the trunk actually stores moisture, ponytail palm can survive for long periods without watering (perfect for forgetful plant parents!).

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Schefflera

Dean Schoeppner

Also called umbrella tree, this easy-to-grow houseplant has glossy foliage with leaflets that radiate out from a central spoke, just like an umbrella's ribs. A close relative, dwarf schefflera (Schefflera arboricola) has smaller, thicker leaflets and shorter stems. Look for variegated varieties for even more interesting leaves.

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Calathea

Denny Schrock

Calathea or prayer plant will draw attention no matter where you place it, thanks to its boldly striped leaves. There are plenty of varieties to choose from, some with rose, white, or yellow leaves. Each one also has a unique leaf pattern of colorful spots or blotches.

Why We Love It: This plant seems to light up even the dimmest corner with its patterned foliage.

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Weeping Fig

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

The longtime darling of interior designers, weeping fig produces tons of shiny green, teardrop-shape leaves on slender branches. You can find braided forms, too, featuring three or more of these small trees woven together to form one spectacular trunk. Unlike its trendy cousin, fiddle leaf fig, this indoor tree isn't fussy about water and humidity.

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Columnea

Dean Schoeppner

One look at columnea's bright orange blooms, and you'll know why its common name is goldfish plant. You'll usually start to see flowers appearing in the spring and summer, but even when it's not in bloom, this plant's glossy, dark green foliage is beautiful all on its own. This easy houseplant for beginners has trailing branches that work well in hanging baskets.

Name:Columnea gloriosa

Growing Conditions: Bright, indirect light; keep soil slightly moist during the summer and feed weekly with a weak liquid fertilizer; stop feeding during the winter and let the soil dry out slightly before watering; 60-75°F.

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Kalanchoe

Olga Volodina/Getty Images

Lots of succulents are easy to grow as long as you have a brightly lit spot for them. While we love these plants mostly for their leaves, one succulent that outshines its foliage with flowers is kalanchoe. You may have encountered it before in grocery stores, laden with bright red, pink, yellow, or orange flowers. It usually blooms in winter and early spring for several weeks. Other than an occasional soaking with water, you won't have to do much else for this succulent to enjoy its colorful show.

Why We Love It: There aren't many houseplants, let alone succulent ones, that can top kalanchoe's floral show.